Chapter Text
The Doctor was dizzy, unable to do much of anything as his body finished regenerating. His mind was hazy, not a single thought clear enough to come forward. What had he been doing? How did he get here?
It hurt, everything hurt, where was-
It hit him then.
Gallifrey.
Gallifrey was…gone.
He was…the last Time Lord.
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he sat up, only to feel another rush of dizziness that almost caused him to fall over.
“Whoa, whoa, hey! Don’t move so fast!” a woman’s voice scolded him. The Doctor tried to open his eyes, but it felt as if his eyelids were glued shut. “I’ve got you, just stay still. You’re safe.”
The woman sounded young, perhaps early 20s, and had an undefinable accent. British, yes, but with a hint of Scottish, as if she had spent a lot of time with someone from Scotland but wasn’t Scottish herself. Her hands were soft, no calluses that he could feel as she brushed against his own hands and his neck, supporting his body. Her hair was long, in corkscrew curls that brushed against his cheeks.
The Doctor catalogued all the information he could about this woman before he said a single word to her. It was better to be safe than sorry, who knew what she wanted from him.
The woman settled him back on what felt like a mattress, her hands slowly retreating once he was situated, as if she expected him to attack her.
Admittedly, that was probably likely, but the Doctor didn’t know this woman. So how could she possibly know he was likely to attack if she made a wrong move?
So many questions filtered through the Doctor’s mind, a hurricane that wouldn’t stop, but it was distracting and that was what he needed right now.
A distraction.
Slowly, he tried opening his eyes again and fought a sigh of relief when they opened and he, at last, laid eyes on the woman.
His sense of her seemed to be correct, he noted, and catalogued her features to his memory. Her curls were brown with just a hint of red from the right angle and her eyes were green, shining with her concern as she looked over him. There wasn’t anything special in the way she dressed, but his eyes couldn’t help being drawn to the necklace around her neck.
A crown of stars on a necklace…what a curious choice. And certainly more dynamic then the plain gold ring she wore around her right thumb.
But that wasn’t important right now and the Doctor darted his gaze back to her eyes.
“Where…am I?” he whispered, his voice hoarse. It was so difficult to speak, but he couldn’t trust this woman and so he had to be on guard.
“A hotel,” the woman answered as she stood up from the bed and moved to the side. “Near the Thames, actually. Um…it’s 2005.” She returned then and held a glass of water up. “I’m going to help you sit up, okay?”
The Doctor nodded and the woman was gentle as she put an arm around his shoulders before pulling him up. Once he was upright, she handed him the glass and helped him to drink it when his own hands began to shake.
The water soothed his aching throat and he greedily drank what he could, only stopping when the woman pulled it away.
“Why did you tell me the year?” the Doctor asked when he felt he could speak again, staring up at the woman kneeling beside him. She stared back at him, her green eyes seeming so vast for one so young. “Who are you?”
Those green eyes filled with pain a second before the woman turned and left the bed, returning the glass to wherever she’d found it. Her back was turned to the Doctor, avoiding his gaze.
“I…my name is Ari,” she said. “And as for why I told you the year…I suppose you’ll have to wait for it.” As she spoke, she turned to face him. She leaned back against the table where she placed the water and met his gaze head on. He could see her right wrist from where he was left sitting up, and on it, a vortex manipulator.
And he knew, at that moment, what had happened.
“You’re a time traveler,” the Doctor whispered.
“Yes.”
“You’re from my future.”
“Yes, I am,” Ari confirmed. She never looked away from the Doctor, her green eyes and vortex manipulator plain to see. She didn’t hide a single thing, showing all of herself without hiding.
“Why the bloody hell are you here?” the Doctor snapped, earning the slightest wince from her before it slipped behind the mask she wore. He wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t been watching her so closely. “You’re putting the entire timeline at stake by crossing mine too early and for what?”
“I know what I’m doing, Doctor,” Ari sighed, as if he were a child. “I know asking for trust is too much at this point, but you know I can’t tell you anything. I’m just Ari right now, and I’m just helping you cause I happened to see the TARDIS appear and…you didn’t look good.”
“Who are you? How much do you know?” the Doctor demanded, watching her with a sharp gaze. He felt off balanced, the weight of what he had done still resting on his shoulders and now here was this woman from his future, staring at him as if crossing his timestream wasn’t a cosmic mistake on her part.
“I’m Ari and I know enough,” Ari stated, her voice firm. Slowly, she approached the bed once more. The Doctor tensed, but didn’t tell her to back away, allowing her to sit on the bed once more. “I am where I’m meant to be, Doctor, and I’m not leaving you. Especially not now.”
“Why?” the Doctor ground out.
“Because you shouldn’t be alone,” she whispered, as if it were a sacred truth. As if she knew that down to her very soul.
“And yet, here I am. The last Time Lord,” the Doctor scoffed.
“But you’re not alone,” Ari insisted, leaning closer. “I came here so you wouldn’t be alone. Because this isn’t the end for you, Doctor. There’s…there’s so much waiting for you and I know this part won’t be easy-”
“What do you know?” the Doctor snapped, glaring at her.
“I know you came out of the TARDIS screaming of nightmares,” Ari countered instantly. “I know PTSD is a bitch and can’t be cured overnight, but I couldn’t leave you alone. I won’t. There’s good memories waiting for you out there, Doctor. I know it.”
The Doctor tried to stay mad at her, he tried. But her earnest gaze was so open, so honest, that he couldn’t. He felt himself soften, just a bit, and stretched his hand out towards the one Ari had resting on the bed.
She took the hint instantly and grasped it with her own, her grip gentle yet reassuring.
“You’re going to be a bloody pain in the arse, aren’t you?” he asked rhetorically. She smiled, wide and toothy, showing a pair of dimples on her cheeks.
“I’ve been told I’m a good pain in the arse,” Ari smiled. “Can’t say you’ll always like me though.”
“Oh I know I won’t,” the Doctor laughed. It was a bit hollow, a bit more air than voice, but it was a laugh. “I’ll probably yell at you quite often.”
“Good thing I’m prepared for it,” Ari laughed, breathless. Her curls fell over her shoulder as she looked down at their hands. The Doctor couldn’t help the thought that she was pretty as he stared at her.
But even just thinking of someone as pretty hurt, as he remembered those he had lost. His beautiful wife, his children, Susan…the ache of loss, of grief, was still there and he couldn’t stop the tears as they began to fall. They were gone, whether by his hand or by someone else’s or by time itself. Everyone was gone. It was only him and did he even deserve to be the last Time Lord after what he had done?
He-
Arms gently wrapped around him and the Doctor latched onto Ari without even thinking about it.
She held him without saying a word and if the Doctor hadn’t known better, he would have thought Ari herself was crying. But no, she was silent and when he eventually pulled away, there was no indication she had cried.
And yet, he couldn’t shake the feeling of her tears landing on his head, even if he had only imagined it.
“You will not be alone, Doctor. I promise,” Ari whispered, staring into his eyes with a fierce determination. “I know your future, yes, but even if I didn’t, I could confidently say this: you will not be alone and you will do good. It’s just who you are.”
For one moment, one he’d never admit to, the Doctor wanted to ask her. He wanted to ask who she was to him, who she would be. How long would it take to meet her properly, how long would he have to wait to do right by her, whoever she was to him.
But it was only a moment and the Doctor took a deep breath in before letting it go.
Now was not the time. He would get his answers in time…hopefully before his patience wore thin.
It was some time before the Doctor felt ready to go but having someone there was…soothing. Even if it was at the expense of having someone cross his timestream at the wrong time. Ari didn’t push him, only made sure he was ready when he decided to go.
As they prepared to leave the hotel room to return him to the TARDIS, the Doctor watched as Ari picked up a book from the nightstand he hadn’t noticed before.
“Yours?” he questioned, glancing over. The book was new, from what he could tell, royal blue and with plenty of pages to fill. Plenty of stories to tell.
“Y-yes…” Ari stuttered, seemingly surprised by his question. She looked down at the book and laid an almost reverential hand on the cover. “It’s my diary. I haven’t started it, but I’m making a point to write in it every day.”
“Good habit to keep.” The Doctor nodded thoughtfully.
Ari only offered a somewhat sad, awkward smile.
The Doctor soundly ignored it, simply followed behind her as she led him to the TARDIS.
And there she was, waiting for him.
For a moment, the Doctor couldn’t breathe, couldn’t take another step forward. The memories were strong, a threat he knew he’d face every night in his dreams for quite some time.
But then a gentle hand laid against his back, not intrusive or pushing but simply there. A support that he had never had before today, but one that would always be offered.
He took a deep breath and turned to face Ari with a smile that was only a measure forced.
“Well then, I suppose this is goodbye, Ari,” he declared, sticking his hands in his coat pockets. He’d need a change of clothes, wherever he stopped over next. Perhaps a leather jacket…
“I think it’s more accurate to say it’s see you later, Doctor,” Ari smiled. Tears glittered in her green eyes and the Doctor had no idea why he kept coming back to her eyes, but he did. They stared at him with those tears, a fathomless depth to them that reminded him of the stars themselves. They were beautiful eyes, he decided. The thought didn’t hurt as terribly this time.
“I suppose you’re correct,” the Doctor admitted aloud. “I’ll be off then.”
“Enjoy your travels, Doctor,” Ari wished as he took his final steps to the TARDIS and opened the door at last. “And Doctor!” He turned as she called, only to find her smiling. The light wind blew at her curls, the sun giving them a deeper red hue than brown, and her voice carried easily. “Just you wait for the next time we meet! You better not be alone!”
The Doctor couldn’t stop the laugh that passed his lips at that, closer to a real laugh.
Oh, he was going to be stuck between liking her and being aggravated by her for quite some time, wasn’t he?
He didn’t say anything else, only stepped inside the TARDIS and let out a breath.
Now it was just him and the old girl.
Where to next?
As the TARDIS vanished from sight, Ari allowed her smile to fall as she clutched her diary to her chest.
She’d known it would hurt, but she hadn’t been able to imagine in her wildest dreams that it would feel like this.
It would only grow worse before it grew better, she knew this, but it didn’t stop Ari from wishing with all her might that this pain would pass quickly.
Without thinking about it, her free hand came up and clutched at her necklace. The crown of stars dug into her palm, a reassuring weight.
She would be okay, she would. She could do this, it was practically a fixed point that she could do this. She simply had to do what she always did and keep a concise record.
God, she was really doing this, wasn’t she?
Ari let out a small chuckle, reaching up to wipe the single tear that fell to her cheek away. She’d already cried her tears, now was the time to write.
Turning away from where the TARDIS had once rested, Ari made her way to a bench near the Thames and sat down. With a deep breath, she opened her diary to the first blank page, grabbed the pen that laid inside as a bookmark and began to write.